Once Upon A Time Sort of
by spoodle monkey
Summary: Wally isn't Cinderella and Bruce is most definitely not Prince Charming, but they were there...sort of. AU BatFlash Boostle Slash


Disclaimer: Nope, don't own

A/N- I don't actually hate Wonder Woman, I just sometimes dislike her. Plus I love Black Canary and Huntress, but I needed them for the story so...This is an AU, but in some ways there are spoilers, but they're pretty much spoilers if you know they're spoilers...did that make any sense at all? Didn't think so. Anyways- I started writing this when I was bored in History and it kind of expanded on itself. Enjoy! Reviews are love!

Summary: Wally isn't Cinderella and Bruce isn't Prince Charming.

* * *

When Wally was fifteen, his mother had died suddenly; three months later his father remarried. Her name was Diana and Wally _really _didn't like her. He hated his step sisters.

It didn't matter that much to him at the time, because he just spent all his time outside with his friend Ted. Ted, who was obsessed with bugs, especially beetles and dragged Wally out at three in the morning to watch fireflies mate; his friend was a little weird.

And as they grew older and Wally's father started going on long business trips, leaving Wally with his step mother and sisters, Ted stopped dragging Wally out at all hours of the night and came by a little less frequently.

Wally thought that it was because of Dinah and Helena, his sisters- but Ted assured him that it wasn't because of them.

Ted had fallen in love.

Wally wasn't sure whether to scoff at the news or congratulate his friend; see, Wally had never fallen in love and only really knew of the love he felt for his father and Ted and what he had felt for his mother.

When Ted did come by, it was to tell him about how he had dragged this mystery person off to some secret spot where the beetles glowed even brighter or where butterflies could be found in the thousands.

Part of Wally was jealous of this unnamed person, but a larger part of him was happy for Ted. He'd never seen his friend so…alive. Wally wanted to feel that way someday.

And then one day, Ted didn't come.

Wally waited and waited, but after his friend hadn't come by his house for a week, Wally went out looking for him.

All that remained of Ted's house was a pile of burned ashes. No body was found, but Ted remained missing.

Lord Maxwell bought the destroyed property a month later.

DI

Originally Wally hadn't wanted to go to the ball. He'd had enough house work to keep him busy for the next three weeks (if he didn't use his super speed) and strict instructions not to leave the house (by his step sisters of course) and at the time he hadn't really cared.

Then he'd had time to think about it and he'd realized that his sisters were kind of pretty (in a completely twisted, step-sister way) but were completely horrible which meant that someone had to warn the poor guy they were trying to marry. Which meant he had to warn the Prince.

He had a bad habit of talking to himself, which was probably why one minute he was alone in his kitchen and the next there was a man dressed in way too much red and blue standing next to him.

"Who the hell are you?" Wally had eyed the frying pan on the table, wondering if he could grab it before the guy attacked him; the guy was pretty big, but Wally was pretty fast. "And why the hell did you break into my house?" How had he not noticed was another good question. Diana was so going to kill him for this one.

The man blinked slowly and Wally briefly wondered if he understood him. Then he spoke.

"I'm Clark; your fairy god-father." The room fell rather silent.

"My what!?"

"Your fairy god-father." Clark repeated, eyeing Wally like _he_ was the crazy one. "I'm here to help you go to the ball."

Wally's chores had been finished (super speed was great) and he really had nothing else to do so he decided to humor the obviously insane man until Clark decided to leave.

Somehow he'd ended up in the garden looking for worms because they had no mice and a potato because it wasn't the season for pumpkins. He sincerely hoped that Clark wasn't planning on cooking the worms and potato's together.

"Here you go." Wally dropped the can of worms and the potato on the table and waited to see what weird thing Clark would do next.

"Perfect!" The _fairy_ clapped his hands together, murmured something illegible and the objects disappeared. Wally waited a moment but nothing else happened. Then he looked out his window. A brown stage coach stood in his garden, with a series of brown horses. He was positive they hadn't been there a moment ago- and they were squishing his vegetables.

"My carrots!"

"Zatanna is generally better at this kind of thing." Clark frowned thoughtfully, and then snapped his fingers. "I know what's missing! You need a dress!"

"A dress?" Wally shrieked as his voice was raised a few octaves and he suddenly found himself a woman. The shock and the different proportions nearly sent him tumbling over- not to mention the long red dress he appeared to be wearing. "What the hell did you do to me?" Murder was not an option, he reminded himself.

Clark for his part looked rather pleased with the outcome, looking Wally up and down with a large smile. He (she) was starting to worry he'd actually need the frying pan to protect his honor.

"I turned you into a woman," Clark stated. "This way no one will recognize you at the ball." He continued quickly at Wally's outraged look. No ball was worth it, screw the Prince, he wouldn't have to deal with his step sisters anymore if one of them married the guy. "Don't worry- it's not permanent."

"How long am I stuck like this?" He'd (she'd) been willing to amuse the crazy guy that had broken into his house but being turned into a woman was a little extreme, not to mention slightly more than he could handle at the moment.

"Just until one in the morning." Clark rushed to reassure him. Perhaps he sensed that he was in danger of being attacked by a frying pan. "I know the rules say that you need to be back by twelve but that just seems a little early for a curfew. You are twenty one after all." He didn't ask how Clark knew.

And that was how he found himself rushed off to a ball he didn't really want to go to, as a woman, in a carriage that had half an hour ago been a potato and a bunch of worms. Dresses were rather drafty and he was convinced that Clark had made his dress's neck line extra low on purpose.

Wally had tried to slip quietly into the ball but he'd ended up tripping over the hem of his dress and then his red hair, which had grown to obscene lengths, had fallen into his eyes and he had ended up, literally walking into the last two people he had wanted to see.

"Watch where you're going!" His step sister, Dinah, glowered at him.

"Do I know you?" Helena, the elder of his two step sisters stood next to Dinah, peering at him suspiciously. Wally quickly came to the conclusion that he needed to leave before he was somehow recognized.

He turned, without really thinking and grabbed the nearest person.

"Let's dance." He told the man, momentarily startled by the sound of his own voice. The man, tall and handsome if you were into the whole 'dark and brooding' thing grunted lightly in surprise but allowed Wally to lead him onto the dance floor. It was around this time that he remembered that he was supposed to be a woman, but really wasn't any good at dancing, especially when he wasn't leading.

"You're not very good at dancing." The man informed Wally. He had a deep voice that really made the whole 'dark and brooding' thing even more attractive- if one were into that.

"Yeah, well you're not very good at flattering a…girl." The music picked up again and Wally nearly tripped over his (her) skirt again as he tried to lead.

"You were the one that asked me to dance." Wally glared at the man as he tried to figure out how to do the steps backwards. "Do you trust me not to let you fall?" The man asked, steadying him with a hand on the small of his back. The touch burned through his clothes and into his skin.

"I have no idea who you are." Wally pointed out.

"Bruce." The name sounded familiar, but then again, he didn't really get out that often so he didn't recognize anyone there (save for his sisters of course) which created a problem when it came to finding the prince. He'd been hoping there'd be some sort of a clue (or large banner) about which one of the hundreds of people there were royalty. So far, he had nothing. They all looked alike.

"Sure, why not?" Worst came to worse he'd fall and drag Bruce down with him, which would hopefully catch the Prince's attention. He could have a little fun in the mean time.

"Then maybe you should let me lead." Wally surrendered himself, all the while cursing his apparent lack of balance in the female form.

They actually managed to make it around the dance floor, much to Wally's surprise, with only a few stumbles. They fell into a routine that Wally found himself following easily.

"What's your name?" Wally stomped rather heavily on Bruce's foot in a panic as he tried to come up with a name. His dance partner grunted, but didn't comment.

"I'm…uh- Flash."

"Flash?" Wally blushed and resisted to beat his head against the nearest hard surface. Flash? That had been his uncle's nickname and unfortunately the first thing that had popped into his head. "That's a…different name. Are you here with family?"

"Sort of." He squeaked. The dancing had been much simpler than holding a conversation. "I'm actually here to see the Prince." It was rather surprising how quickly Bruce's face slopped into a mask of neutrality.

"So you're here with all the other women to see if the Prince will pick you as a bride?" He shivered at the low, gravelly tone Bruce's voice had taken.

"No- I'm here to warn him about my sisters actually." Wally spit out quickly, sensing that the conversation was going downhill quickly.

"Warn him?" Bruce repeated. "About the competition?" He was getting the feeling that Bruce wasn't listening anymore.

"What? No!" They had stopped dancing now, out of the way of the other dancers. "I didn't want to come tonight, but I figured I had to warn him about my step sisters and this stupid fairy god-father showed up and the next thing I know I'm a woman and the worst part is that I don't even know what the Prince looks like!" He paused, trying to catch his breath. They were attracting a few odd looks. "You're not the Prince, are you?" That would have helped.

Bruce stared at him for a moment, and then removed his hand from Wally's grasp.

"No. I'm not." He replied shortly, then turned and walked away. Wally watched Bruce go, feeling unusually stung. He'd liked the other man's company. His skin was still warm from where Bruce had touched him. But he shrugged it off because he had a mission to complete. The night couldn't be a complete waste.

He turned and slipped out onto one of the balconies, out of the line of sight of most of the people in the room. The night air helped calm him and clear his head and the rushing thoughts.

"Damn. You found me." Wally yelped and jumped, stumbling backwards as his heel caught on the edge of his dress and he landed on the ground in an ungraceful heap.

"What the hell?" He demanded. A young man, not much older than Wally emerged from the shadows, looking rather sheepish at startling him. He had blonde hair and expensive looking clothes but Wally's eyes were drawn to the crown atop his head. "You're the Prince!" Wally cried out, excited.

The blonde man made a shushing motion, glancing uneasily through the partially closed doors.

"Look, I know you're probably here looking to be the next Princess and everything, but I honestly am not looking to get married." Wally took the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Oh no, I'm not interested in you." Wally told him quickly.

"In it for the money then?" The Prince looked kind of weary at the thought.

"Money? No!" He was beginning to regret his plan. "I'm here to warn you about my step sisters." The more he said it, the more he realized just how ridiculous he sounded. "I just thought that if you were going to be getting married, then you should at least know what you're getting into. Look, what's your name?"

"Uh- Michael, Michael Carter- but the some people call me Booster." Wally wasn't going to ask about that one. The Prince looked slightly confused, so Wally gave in and half dragged Michael over to one of the corners of the balcony where the noise from the party wasn't as audible. It was much easier to hear.

"Michael, I'm Wa- Flash. I'm Flash." He should have chosen an easier name to remember. The Prince really did look rather depressed; there was something about him that made Wally think, that given the chance he would rather escape to anywhere else. "Can I ask why you're getting married if you don't actually _want_ to get married?" It seemed a little odd to be getting married if one didn't want to.

"My father decided that he wanted an heir. So, I got stuck with it, instead of my sister." This just proved that some people were weird. Wally wasn't really sure what to say to that. "Have you ever lost someone you cared about?"

Wally thought of his mother, his father passing away a few years before and Ted.

"Yeah."

"Well I did too, so I figure, why not give my sister a chance to have what I used to have." Prince Michael shrugged like it was nothing but he had his face tilted away so Wally couldn't see the pained expression he wore. "Marriage won't be so bad."

The Prince was apparently suffering from a heavy dose of denial if he thought that if he'd be happy in a marriage with someone he didn't love. Wally held his tongue though because even if he was a woman for another two hours he couldn't just outright tell the Prince that he was insane. With his luck, he'd probably end up arrested.

"Hey- want to marry me?" Wally let out a startled laugh at the question, and then realized that apparently the Prince was serious. The man really was crazier than he had originally thought.

"Please tell me you're joking." Michael looked fairly offended at the comment. "I mean- I can guarantee it's not going to work out."

"Well I know that I don't really know you and it's not like we're in love, but you actually have a brain and that's got to be better than most of the other possible suitors here."

"Uh, thanks, but that's not the problem." Oh god- he was so going to jail. "See, I'm a man."

Michael opened his mouth, then closed it again and blinked. He looked down, stared at Wally's chest until Wally was forced to stomp on the other man's foot to get his attention.

"Look," Michael began skeptically. "I get it, you don't want to marry me- but you could have come up with a better excuse."

"But I really am!" Michael looked like he wanted to argue the point but a familiar face appeared through the doorway, spotting them right away. Bruce glanced from Wally to Michael and then back, an unreadable expression on his face, before finally addressing them.

"Booster," He spoke to Michael but his eyes remained on Wally, giving nothing away. "Another carriage arrived. Your father wants to greet the guests." Michael sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face.

"My…lady." He paused, made a face and swept into a gracious bow, kissing Wally's hand. Wally valiantly tried not to hit him. "Until next time." Then he stepped away and back into the crowded ball room.

Wally remained where he was standing, with Bruce watching him carefully.

"What?" He finally snapped.

"Didn't get the Prince to propose?" There actually seemed to be a genuine curiosity underneath the layer of snark.

"Actually he did." Wally smirked lightly at the odd look on the other man's face. It couldn't be- jealousy? He had to be imagining it. "I turned him down. I'm pretty sure he's looking for a wife and normally I'm not a woman."

Then he swept by Bruce and back into the room.

DI

He had grown pretty tired of the party. He'd done what he had come to do so he'd decided to leave early and deal with the whole 'I'm female' thing once he got home. If Clark had been lying about it wearing off at one, then there would be a dead fairy as soon as he saw him again.

Wally had almost made it to the door when a hand had seized his arm pulling him to the side at the same time that the doors to the ballroom swept open and an impossibly beautiful woman walked in. Or rather, it looked like she was hobbling in; she apparently wasn't used to her shoes.

"Leaving?" Bruce asked him lightly, his hand still resting lightly on Wally's arm.

"I warned the Prince, have blisters covering my feet from these damn shoes and have a fairy god-father to track down in case this stupid spell doesn't wear off, so I believe I've fulfilled everything I came here to do." Wally glanced back at the woman on the steps as she nervously gazed around the room. Almost every eye was on her. Almost. He was fairly certain that the gaze boring into the side of his head was Bruce's.

The woman though- he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her. Long brown hair, dark blue gown; it didn't look like anyone he knew, he didn't get out often but perhaps he had passed her on the street or something.

"Do you know her?" He asked Bruce, glancing at the tall man that had managed to crowd into his space.

"No." Bruce replied, finally taking the time to look at the woman. "I don't know who she is." He was pretty sure Bruce was the type of guy who knew everything about everyone, and kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't get up to anything. So how did Wally know the mystery girl?

The woman took a step forwards and nearly crashed down the set of stairs, and would have if not for Prince Michael appearing out of the crowd suddenly and catching her.

The woman beamed at the Prince, all pearly teeth and bashful blue eyes. Huh. He knew the smile. And the stumble- he'd been stumbling around earlier not used to different…body parts. It would make sense if she, weren't a _she_…but, no. It couldn't be; she was probably just nervous; or tipsy.

"Looks like the Prince just found his Princess." Wally remarked, taking in the blush on Michael's face. He turned back to Bruce and found the man watching Wally instead of the scene before them.

"You're not upset?" Wally rolled his eyes. He really thought that the other man would have caught on already.

"No." He said slowly, considering hitting the man over the back of his head.

"Ah." Bruce nodded, and then glanced over at the dance floor where the Prince had swept the new woman off to. A few guests were returning to the floor, the musicians starting a slow song. "Would you care to dance then?"

"I don't know," Wally considered it. If he left he could track down Clark, if he stayed, he had another hour or so before he needed to leave before he (hopefully) turned back. "Are you going to insult my dancing again?"

DI

"You've gotten much better." Wally was horrified to find that he wasn't able to keep the blush off his face at the compliment.

"You're only saying that because I haven't stomped on your feet in the past two minutes." Which of course meant that he chose that moment to accidentally tread on his dance partners shoes. Bruce for his part, didn't even wince, just offered him a smile that Wally couldn't help but respond to.

DI

They had been in the middle on another dance when a commotion had broken out. Wally had glanced up, watching as the crowd suddenly parted, just in time to see the mystery woman all but bolt from the room. She tripped over her skirt twice, but still made it out before the Prince could recover from where he'd apparently been knocked to the floor.

The clock struck twelve somewhere nearby and Wally knew.

He wormed his way out of Bruce's slack grip, regrettably as the man tried to decide if he should help the Prince.

"Flash?"

"I forgot that I have something to do!" Wally called over his shoulder and dashed out the nearest side exit he could find. Instead of waiting to see if Bruce would try to catch up to him, he kicked his heels off and hiked his skirt up high, frightening the servant he nearly ran into as he darted out into the night.

He could hear Prince Michael calling out in the distance, but he avoided the front of the palace, choosing a direction and hoping it was the right one. Up ahead there was a crash and a muffled curse. Wally followed it, spotting the woman on the ground tangled up in her dress. Behind him he could hear people following.

Wally bent down and grabbed the woman under her arm and hauled her into the bushes, behind him one of her shoes lay on the path but he didn't have time to go back and get it. They kept running, zigzagging through bushes and trees. As soon as she lost her other shoe it was easier to run, with branches hitting them and catching on their clothes. He could feel the slender arm thickening under his hand and knew he'd been right about her- him.

Then he took a sharp left and they tumbled to a stop, hidden in a large bush.

"Keep quiet." Wally hissed as footsteps approached.

"Come back!" Michael's voice, desperate, sounded out nearby. "Please! Come back!" Then the voice faded away and Wally allowed himself to breathe easily.

"You have no idea how lucky you are." Wally informed, the man that sat next to him on the muddy ground, still in the ridiculous dress. "I at least got until one in the morning. Who limits you until twelve?"

"Thank you." The man muttered. There was something familiar about the voice, deeper, but familiar. Wally tilted his head, peering through the darkness to see the man next to him.

"You're- you…" His mouth dropped open in shock. There was no possible way. But it was. The same eyes and smile and _everything_, just older. "Ted!" He lunged at the man he had just helped get away, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Who are you?" Ted, bewildered, patted his back awkwardly. Right, Wally remembered belatedly that he still looked like a woman.

"Wally, it's me, Wally." Ted stared at him skeptically, and then broke into a wide smile. "I got Clark for a fair god-father."

"Ah, I got Kara." Wally grinned and stood, offering his still too small hand to the friend that he had been sure he had lost.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here."

DI

Ted was sleeping soundly in Wally's room in the basement of his house when the news arrived. He'd turned back into a man on the way back to the house, which led to a few rather awkward conversations with a few villagers about _why_ they were wandering around at one in the morning in _dresses_. Wally was more concerned about what had happened to the clothes he had been wearing before the dress; he'd had his favourite shirt on.

Dinah and Helena had spent most of the morning ranting on about some woman who had tried to steal their prince. Wally spent the morning trying not to burst out laughing and tell them that the woman they were looking for was sleeping in his room, snoring rather loudly and drooling on his pillow.

The news arrived shortly around lunch time. One of his step mother's friends had dropped by to tell her all about the shoes left at the palace and how the Prince was searching for the woman whose foot fit the shoe.

Wally had been right about Michael being insane. Honestly, how many people in the kingdom had the same sized feet? And Ted was a man again; he highly doubted the shoe would fit anymore.

But his sisters had been excited to hear that the Prince would be making rounds and had set off to pamper themselves. Diana had caught him looking, had let out an 'hmm' and had stalked off somewhere. He'd decided to not stick around and find out what she had planned.

Ted had been awake and pacing when Wally had returned to his room with lunch.

"Look, I'm sorry you thought I was dead." He said quickly as Wally seated himself on the edge of the bed.

"You'd better be."

"But I was kind of trapped for awhile, Lord Maxwell sent me off to a prison in a nearby kingdom and it took me quite some time to get out."

"I knew it! I knew Lord Maxwell was behind it."

"He didn't like my relationship with Booster and-"

"Wait- you fell in love with the _Prince?_" Ted paused in his rant (and his pacing), quickly thinking over his words. Then he blanched when he realized what he had said. "I mean I _saw_ the two of you last night, but I just didn't make the connection."

"Ah, well." He shifted awkwardly. "That is to say…" Wally decided to put him out of his misery.

"You guys make a great couple." His friend smiled briefly at that and Wally was struck by just how much he had missed that smile.

"The problem was, er- is, is that the King is working with Lord Maxwell. He ordered my imprisonment." The king was in on the conspiracy? Wally grit his teeth together to keep from saying what he really though of the situation. He wondered if he could wish for Clark to send the king far, far away. Preferably somewhere cold.

"And Michael doesn't know about this?" Wally asked. The Prince hadn't seemed to be the evil schemer kind, but you never knew.

"He actually prefers to be called Booster," Ted muttered, off hand. "And no, he doesn't know. I've never met someone as…_real_ as Booster." Wally wasn't sure what to say to that.

DI

Wally was in the middle of cleaning out the fire place when the knock came on the door the next day. Cursing as he bumped his head on the edge of the stone work, he made his way to the door, trying to wipe as much of the soot off as he could. Then he tried to smudge it in more when he realized who was on the other side of the door.

"Er…hi." Wally desperately tried to keep his voice level as he took in the royal ensemble, led, of course- by Bruce. It figured Bruce was some sort of royalty.

"Good morning." Bruce glanced over Wally, and then peered into the recesses of the house, as though sizing it up. "Are the ladies of the house home?" Wally raised an eyebrow, but relaxed slightly when it appeared that the other man didn't recognize him. He ignored the disappointment.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go get them." Wally gestured over his shoulder, and then wandered into the house, leaving the door wide open. He highly doubted that the royal ensemble would steal anything, but if they wanted to, then they could just go right ahead.

It took him a few minutes, but he finally managed to round up his step sisters and mother (after they insisted on applying makeup and changing) then led them back to the door where Bruce was looking impassively bored. It appeared to be something he had worked hard to accomplish. It worked too.

His sisters squealed and cooed and pretended that the shoes were theirs and Wally stood silently in the back, rubbing absently at the soot on his face. He could see Lord Maxwell in the crowd, watching him with an imposing air, but Wally pretended he didn't notice the man watching. If there hadn't had been witnesses, the man wouldn't have known what hit him.

"These are your sisters?" Bruce asked, having done a rather good job appearing next to Wally without him noticing.

"Step sisters." Wally corrected, watching as Helena's foot proved to be too small for the shoe. Wally suppressed his laughter, but barely.

"Oh, really?" Oops- Wally belatedly realized his mistake, as Bruce gazed at his sisters. "Any other sisters?"

"Erm. No."

"Did you attend the ball with them?" Bruce nodded in the direction of his step sisters. It sounded like he was making small talk but it set Wally on edge. He wanted nothing more than to see the other man smile again but that wasn't much of an option.

"I don't dance very well." For a moment he was sure he'd been found out, but Bruce didn't say anything else so Wally didn't press his luck.

"I'd better get back to cleaning." He murmured, slipping away silently and trying to keep all attention from himself. He could feel the other man's eyes on his back though as he made a hasty retreat through the doors and back to his work.

DI

He'd done the smart thing and disappeared; pouring himself into cleaning one of the many bathrooms and generally avoiding the rest of his family. He knew the shoes wouldn't fit and when they realized that, it would be a disaster zone. He just hoped Bruce, and the others of course, would get away before his step mother lost her temper. She could be rather scary when provoked.

He could hear the yelling and the sound of priceless possessions that had belonged to his parents smashing on the floors below but he did his best to ignore them and focused instead on the grit and grime in the bath tub.

To say he hadn't been expecting the bathroom door to slam open would be an understatement. He flinched as his step mother flung someone down next to him, her lovely face furious.

Ted landed on the floor hard, sliding on the slick tiles.

"He's supposed to be dead!" Diana shrieked. Wally winced at the sound, but stared straight back, refusing to back down.

"Well, he's obviously not." He replied calmly. Her dark eyes flashed and before he knew what was happening she had a hold of his hair, yanking him forwards until he was stopped by the marble counter top.

Colours sparked before his eyes. Diana was nothing if not incredibly strong. He could hear someone call out, before he drifted under.

DI

"Wally?" He wasn't quite sure where he was, but his head was throbbing in a way it generally didn't do when he woke up in the morning. Right- Diana. The floor was hard and cold beneath him; he was probably in some sort of basement then. "Wally?" The voice called again. "Come on, I know you're awake."

He blinked his eyes open, taking in the dim lighting and musty smell; definitely a basement then.

"Ted?" He croaked, cleared his throat and then tried to sit up. The world spun but he managed to keep the contents of his stomach down, just barely. "What happened?"

"Diana found me and the dresses." Right, that would be the dresses that he had stuffed in the bottom of a trunk until he could find an incinerator. "She didn't take the news that I was alive very well." God, it was like everyone was out to get Ted and apparently him by association. Ted was still talking though. "-knocked you out and called Lord Maxwell, he wasn't very pleased to see me to say the least. Anyways, I got knocked over the head and the next thing I know I'm back in this stupid basement and you're still unconcious."

"We're in a basement?" Ted sat propped up against one of the walls, feet sprawled out in front of him and arms crossed. He looked calm, relaxed. The man was plotting their escape.

"Yup. Lord Maxwell's basement to be exact." Ah. Well that wasn't good.

"And there's no one looking for us." Wally summarized. Two people that he was sure of knew Ted was alive, but it was the people who wanted him dead, and no one would come looking for Wally. Diana would probably come up with some great excuse, maybe she'd tell everyone that he ran off with a pretty red head that liked to talk back to people and tried to lead while dancing. It was plausible.

"Looks like we're in this on our own." At least they were still together. Together they had a chance at escape, two heads were better than one.

Wally climbed unsteadily to his feet, noting how his hands were tied and moved to the opposite wall, sliding down the cool stone until he rested once again on the floor.

"So," Wally began after awhile. "When do you think the evil genius is going to come and visit us?"

It turned out that they weren't important enough for their kidnapper to show up even to give them the usual monologue which they could have used to their advantage to escape. So they were left in the dimly lit basement for hours, with nothing much to do after deciding that their best chance of escape was to over power someone when someone actually came down to check on them.

"So…do you know Bruce?" Wally finally asked. The question had been driving him crazy for the better part of their time down there. It also took his mind off their rather depressing situation.

"Bruce Wayne?" Ted glanced over, bored enough to latch onto the conversation without any real questions. "He's a duke and one of Booster's closest friends." He eyed Wally speculatively. "He's single too."

"I wasn't asking that." Wally snapped, defensively. He hadn't been asking that, but he had been thinking it.

DI

He couldn't sleep. Or more correctly, he couldn't let himself sleep. He had a head wound and they were prisoners. Lord Maxwell had tried to get rid of Ted once, Wally had to be aware just in case the guy came back to finish his friend off. Ted drifted off for a bit, but woke with a start not long after. His face looked haunted; Wally had a feeling that memories of this place were coming back to him.

"Think we get a complimentary breakfast?" Wally asked, contemplating his rumbling stomach. He'd been without food for longer before, so he would be fine.

"To go with the complimentary rooms?" Ted asked, some of the haunted look disappearing.

"But of course."

Ted grinned and stood suddenly, walking to one of the far corners where a pile of crates lay. Wally watched, wondering if his friend had finally lost it as he started pushing aside the crates, tossing pieces of cloth and the like behind him.

"What are you doing?" Wally finally asked when a handkerchief with a suspicious stain hit him on the head.

"I can hear voices." Voices. His friend must have lost his mind then. Being trapped in Lord Maxwell's basement too similar to his time imprisoned; by the same man no less. "Listen!" Wally listened. He could hear them too, distorted and quiet, but there.

Wally jumped to his feet and across the room, pushing aside his vertigo to help Ted. A small pipe lay at the base of the pile, embedded in the wall. Small voices filtered out of it. Wally crouched down, pushing his ear against the rusted pipe and listened.

"…_only one…ome. No…ere. Sor…"_

"That sounds like Maxwell." Wally fell silent for a moment, trying to catch the next part of the speech. "I think he's talking to someone. Telling them that he's the only one home."

"Hmm." Ted surveyed the door that blocked their escape. "This door isn't going to come off, but I think I may be able to get their attention." Wally didn't bother asking questions as Ted rummaged around, grabbing random objects and producing a few small vials from the folds of his clothes that Wally hadn't known he had had.

"Hurry!" He hissed, ear still pressed to the pipe. "I think they're leaving." Ted grinned and stepped back from the pipe like object he had created.

"I think we should be taking cover right about now." The pair scrambled behind the crates, covering their heads and ears for whatever it was that Ted had concocted.

Then there was a deafening noise and an explosion rocked the room and Wally was covered in a thin layer of dust and debris. Let it be said that Ted Kord was a genius.

"Do you think they heard it?" Wally shouted over the noise.

"What?" Ted shouted back, wiping the dust from his face.

"Never mind." Wally shook his head and cautiously emerged from their barricade. Then part of the ceiling collapsed. He jumped back, startled. The door still stood, but part of the wall was missing. Not enough for them to climb through, but enough to peer out into the corridor.

There was shouting. Lots of it. And then an army of people came rushing down the stairs towards their cell. Wally flinched back as he realized Maxwell was leading it.

"Wrong people." He shouted over to Ted, hurrying back over to the barricade and picking up a hefty pipe. He figured he would need a weapon.

"Lord Maxwell stop!" The door was flung open as Maxwell ran in, sword in hand. Wally knew that voice; what the hell was the Prince doing in Lord Maxwell's basement? The Lord in question glanced around, manic glint in his eyes and headed straight for Ted. He wasn't going down without a fight.

Wally was faster.

When he said he had super speed, he had not been joking. He wasn't a blur, but he was faster than the average human and he used it to his advantage as he sped forwards, hitting Maxwell upside the head with the pipe before he could reach Ted.

The man crumpled in on himself, collapsing to the floor in a heap. Wally stood there, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he checked to make sure that Ted was alright.

"Flash?" He reacted to the name, without thinking, turning to respond to whoever had called him. Bruce smiled softly at him, a good look for the other man, then approached him and gently pried the pipe from his death grip. There was worry lurking in the man's eyes, worry for Wally.

"Your highness! You really should not go in there!" The Prince rushed through the door, freezing mid step as he took in the scene before him.

"Ted?" Wally felt an arm encircle his waist, offering support, holding him up so he didn't collapse with relief, keeping him close. Prince Michael rushed over to Ted, grabbing and pulling him close, Wally didn't think he would be letting go anytime soon.

"I knew it." Bruce informed him quietly, perhaps a little smug. Wally rolled his eyes; of course he had had to spell it out for the man first.

DI

"You're leaving?" Michael- no, Booster, grinned and nodded, hefting another trunk up onto the carriage.

"Call it a change of scenery."

"But you're the _Prince_." Wally felt it imperative to point this out. "And the King is gone." The man had literally disappeared over night. No one had been able to find him since.

"And Shel is the _Princess_." Booster pointed out, strapping a bag down. "Besides, I don't think I'm set for the whole, royal life." Said the man that had been living it for his entire life.

"Booster," Ted appeared around the other side of the carriage. "We need to get going soon before everyone else in the Kingdom realizes what we're doing." Booster smiled, a content, happy smile; the man was head over heels for Ted Kord, that much was fairly obvious.

"Well…you'd better write then." Wally surrendered, stepping forwards and giving Ted a hug and then Booster.

"Try not to die." Bruce came up beside him, linking his hand with Wally's. Ted smirked, glancing from Wally to Bruce and then back again.

"Once was enough for me." He announced, then turned and climbed into the carriage with Booster on his heels. They had met early in the morning near the eastern gates so no one would find out until Michael and Ted were long gone.

"I hope they know what they're doing." Wally muttered as the carriage rolled away. Ted leaned out the back, waving wildly until they turned into the forest and out of sight.

"I suspect they might." Bruce pulled him against his side, and then kissed his temple, before releasing him and turning back towards the castle. "Come on, we still need to get you moved out of that place." Ah yes, he was moving out of the basement at his step mothers house (which had recently become Helena and Dinah's house as Diana was currently in jail for assault and kidnapping among various other charges).

"Then of course we'll have some serious work to do," Wally informed him gravely. Bruce peered at him, a worried frown making its way onto his face. "We'll have to break in the bed."


End file.
